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series: lux

Hello, all! 😀 Today I thought I’d try the Mean Girls book tag, which I’ve seen in quite a few places (though not recently), but, as usual, wasn’t tagged for – it’s just such a great film, and with so many great, quotable moments! This tag barely even scratches the surface, despite its length. Speaking of which, I have quite a lot of questions to answer, so I’ll try to keep my answers short. 😛 The Mean Girls book tag was created by Sarah Jane at TheBookLife.

1) “It’s pronounced like Cady.” – Which fictional character’s name did you get completely wrong?

For this one, I’m going to have to admit that I was one of the legions of people who thought for the longest time that Hermione was pronounced “Hermy-own”… But at least our mistake led to J.K. Rowling writing in that brilliant scene between Hermione and Krum in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire.

2) “She doesn’t even go here!” – Which character would you like to place in a fictional world from another book or series?

Disregarding the “book” part of this question (or at least half of it), I’d really love to dump Hermione in the Dragon Age universe, and watch her rage against the Circle system, and the subjugation of the elves. I’ve actually just started an Inquisitor!Hermione playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and it’s been a lot of fun so far!

3) “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” – Repetition. Repetition. Which book gave you deja-vu of another book whilst reading it?

Definitely Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, which was ridiculously like Twilight, but a million times more self-aware. And also with aliens. Clearly there was some very heavy “inspiration”, but luckily the two series go in completely different directions, or else it probably would’ve started to annoy me after a while (even though I think the Lux books are much better than the Twilight books…).

4) “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” – Which book gave you the complete opposite of girl power feels?

Maybe Fiesta by Kate Cann? I had a lot of problems with this book that went beyond a severe lack of girl power (& which I talked about in my review), but one of the major ones was the way the main characters – who were supposed to be best friends – always seemed to be turning on each other over boys…

5) “You go, Glen Coco!” – Name a character you felt like you wanted to cheer on whilst reading.

I’m currently in the middle of The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett, and there are a lot of characters that I’m rooting for, but none (for now) so much as Sikvah, who just had her most epic moment yet! 😀

6) “Get in loser, we’re going shopping!” – How long do you typically spend at a book shop?

Bookshops are magical places where I completely lose track of time, so I’m not usually able to tell how long I’ve spent in one… except that it’s always longer than it should be. I try to avoid even setting foot in a bookshop unless I know I have several hours to burn. 😳

7) “It’s not my fault you’re, like, in love with me or something!” – Which character would have to get out a restraining order on you, if they were real?

… I actually don’t know. I love a lot of characters in a lot of books, but none so much that I’d actually go all creepy-stalker on them…

8) “I can’t help it that I’m popular.” – Which over-hyped book were you cautious about reading?

I was very hot-and-cold about whether I wanted to read the Throne of Glass books by Sarah J. Maas, after hearing all the hype… I’m definitely glad I did pick them up, though! 😀

9) “She’s a life-ruiner. She ruins peoples lives.” – We all love Regina George. Name a villain you just love to hate.

Ugh, Umbridge from Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. She’s fantastically-written, but so awful and petty! 😡

He’s not actually Todd’s father, but Ben from the Chaos Walking trilogy is such a brilliant father-figure; I love their whole relationship. ❤

11) “That is so Fetch!” – Which book or series would you love to catch on?

The Emelan-universe books by Tamora Pierce (i.e. the Circle of Magic, The Circle Opens & The Circle Reforged series)! I love these books so much, and they’re reasonably well-known and well-regarded (though not so much so as her Tortall books), but I never hear anyone talking about them! 😦

12) “How do I even begin to explain Regina George?” – Describe your ideal character to read about.

Clever and creative, but without the need to shove it in people’s faces. Understated, I guess. And with a wonderful circle of friends (my love of a character is often based more on how they interact with the people around them than on that character as an individual).

13) “I just have a lot of feelings.” – What do you do when a book gives you a bad case of the feels?

I either call or message my friends and rant about it, if they’ve read it too, or else I badger them incessantly to do so. Immediately.

You know, I can’t actually think of any books I’ve read with particularly witty one-liners? I would like to steal Beatrix’s internal monologue, though (from Night Owls by Jenn Bennett), and this quote in particular:

“This was the night bus, not a Journey song. Two strangers were not on a midnight train going anywhere. I was going home, and he was probably going to knock over a liquor store.”

15) “Boo, you whore.” – Name a time a character’s decision has made you roll your eyes.

Jonas from the Falling Kingdoms series has the worst ideas of all time, ever. I’m really enjoying the books, but as the series has gone on, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to suspend my disbelief that anyone could consider him a serious threat.

This tag was created by Mariana at fireheartbooks, and I was tagged by the wonderful Loreva from La Book Dreamer, whose blog you should all definitely check out! The goal is to pick out a book for every letter of the alphabet, and the only rule is that you need to own (or to have previously owned and read) every book on the list. You also don’t need to include articles, e.g. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess would count for “C” rather than “A”.

Phew. That was a lot of books! But I’m pleased to say that I have read all of these books, and I still own them all except for Unravel Me, which I gave to one of my cousins, and River Daughter, which I donated (it was a good book, I just couldn’t imagine myself reading it again). And I did have to break out my manga collection for “X” and “Z” – something I’d been hoping I wouldn’t have to do – but I regret nothing. 😎

Summer is almost over, but there’s still time for me to post this before it becomes irrelevant! 😉 This tag was created by islandOFbooks, I believe, and I was (for once! 😀 ) actually tagged for it – by the lovely Cátia from The Girl Who Read Too Much! Now on to the tag:

1) Lemonade – a book that started off bitter but then got better

Since I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently, I’ll once again take this chance to mention The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan. I really didn’t enjoy the first few chapters, but once the story got going, it was an incredible read! I’ve written a full review of the book here, if you’re interested in checking it out. 🙂

2) Golden Sun – a book that made you smile beyond compare

Adventure Time with Fionna& Cake by Natasha Allegri makes me smile like a lunatic. It’s just so colourful and fun! I don’t know why I love the genderswapped Adventure Time universe so much, but I do, and this comic is Fionna & Cake at their best! 😀

3) Tropical Flowers – a book set in a different country

I have a lot of books that are set in countries other than England (especially America, China & Japan), but for this one I wanted to pick a book where the setting is a very prominent part of the story, so I decided to go with Mãn by Kin Thúy, which is set within a Vietnamese community in Montreal – and which is another book I’ve written a full review for (one of the first reviews I wrote)! You can read it here.

4) Tree Shade – a book where a mysterious or shady character was introduced

Sirius Black in Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling! He was such a suspicious character when he was introduced! And, actually, Remus Lupin was pretty shady, too, when we first met him (in the same book). Naturally, these two are some of my favourite characters now. 😛

5) Beach Sand – a book that was grainy, and the plot barely developed

The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi had its strengths, but the plot was definitely not one of them. This trilogy is nominally a dystopian series, but you can only tell that it’s a dystopian because the characters keep telling you it is – the society and the problems it faces barely come in to the story, while it focuses instead on angsty romantic drama. I’ve written another full review of this series here, if you’d like to take a look.

6) Green Grass – a character that was full of life, making you smile

Emma Woodhouse from Jane Austen’s novel Emma. She’s an incredible snob, and she always thinks that she knows better than everyone else, but I love her – partly because of those qualities. She just ends up in so many hilariously awkward situations throughout the book, and it never fails to get me smiling. 😀

7) Watermelon – a book that had some juicy secrets

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare! The mystery of Tessa’s entire existence is something that will baffled me for the entire Infernal Devices trilogy – until I got to the end of the last book, where all was revealed. And it was absolutely worth the wait! One of the best conclusions to a series that I’ve read in a very long time.

8) Sun Hat – a book with a vast universe/setting

It only makes sense to pick an epic fantasy for this question, and – though it’s an obvious answer – the biggest, most in-depth setting I’ve ever come across is J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, the setting of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (as well as a vast mythology, which is published in various places).

9) BBQ – a book in which a character was portrayed as a hunk

Almost every romance novel I’ve ever read! 😛 It was a difficult choice, but for this one I’ve decided to go with the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Damon is the hunk in question, and his relationship with Katy – the main character – is a whole load of fun to read~ ❤

10) Summer Fun – pass the tag on

I pass. 😛 Since it’s very nearly the end of summer, I won’t be tagging anyone else specifically. If you’d like to do this tag despite the incoming cold, rainy weather, then feel free to consider yourself tagged by me! 🙂

I think I did pretty well in April, having read a total of 9 novels, 7 novellas/short stories, 2 graphic novels, 1 non-fiction book, and I also finished off a manga series that I put on hold a couple of years ago… And I’m doing pretty well with my reading resolutions for the year, as well: 9 of the things I read counted towards goals that I hadn’t already completed. 😀

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi. The final book in the Shatter Me trilogy. I enjoyed the book, and the characters, but I still felt that most of the time, the plot took a backseat to all the relationship drama – and while I don’t dislike that in itself, I think that dystopian fiction really needs more focus on the story and world-building. I did appreciate that the characters finally acknowledged that they hadn’t really had a viable plan to take down the Reestablishment in Unravel Me, which was something that had been bothering me, and I really enjoyed how Juliette’s relationships with both Warner and Kenji developed…Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi. The end of Unravel Me, re-told from Adam’s perspective. I don’t have much to say about this, as I didn’t really find anything remarkable in it. Adam’s priorities were all over the place, as usual, and I guess it was interesting seeing his point of view, but I’ve never been a huge fan of his character…Juliette’s Journal by Tahereh Mafi. The whole of the journal that we see fragments of throughout the series. There wasn’t really anything new here, but I found that it was more interesting to read it as a whole, instead of in little pieces scattered all over the place.Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp by Philip Pullman. A re-telling of the legend of Aladdin. Like most fairytales, it was rather lacking in character development, but my favourite thing about this edition (and, in fact, the main reason why I bought it) was the illustrations (by Ian Beck), which are absolutely beautiful. There were obviously no surprises in terms of the story (it’s a pretty straight-up re-telling, without any unexpected twists), but Philip Pullman’s writing was as enjoyable as always.The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. A re-telling of both Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, where Snow White and three dwarves set off on a quest to wake Sleeping Beauty and stop the sleep-plague that is creeping across the country. I didn’t expect, when I started this, that Snow White would be taking the place of the Prince (in fact, I didn’t expect Snow White to be involved at all), but it was a twist that I ended up really liking. The illustrations were also great – I’m not the biggest fan of Chris Riddell’s art, generally, but it suited this story, and the colour palette (black, white and gold), was lovely.The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood by Charles Perrault (from Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories). The original tale of Sleeping Beauty, in which, after Sleeping Beauty and the Prince fall in love and get married, they have two children (Dawn and Day), whom the Prince’s mother (who is part-ogre!) eventually tries to eat! It was certainly an interesting story, and the ending was very unexpected, but I ended up enjoying it a lot.Naruto (Ch. 614-700) by Masashi Kishimoto. The tale of a boy who wants to become the greatest ninja of all time, and gain the respect and friendship of all his peers. I’ve been following this series for years, and I’m so glad that I’ve finally finished. The story was (as usual) frequently ridiculous, but after however many years it’s been, I’ve come to expect that and not really mind it. More than anything else, the whole series was just a lot of fun! 🙂 What I read this month covered the fights against Tobi, Madara and Kaguya, as well as some really great Warring Clans-era flashbacks.

Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The final book in the Lux series, which is a half-romance, half-alien invasion story about a book blogger called Katy. I wasn’t quite as into this book as I was the previous ones, but I think that was mostly because I had to break up my reading quite a lot because of non-fictional events… Quality-wise, I think it was on par with the other books in the series. Overall, it was an exciting and satisfying conclusion to the series, and I enjoyed it a lot.Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout. A prequel to the Lux series, that tells the story of how Dawson and Bethany met and fell in love, and how their relationship played out in the lead-in to Obsidian. The story and characters were both very enjoyable, though I missed having Katy’s perspective, and it was a little jarring to be reading an almost pure romance story set in the Lux universe, after the plot-driven storytelling I’ve been used to since reading Onyx…Trouble by Non Pratt. The story of a teenage girl who gets pregnant – and the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father – that turned out to be unexpectedly touching. I’m currently in the process of writing up a full review of this book, which will probably be posted in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll save the rest of my comments for there.Breath of Life by Christine Pope. The first book in the Gaian Consortium series, which seems to be a series of sci-fi fairytale retellings (so far as I can tell, not knowing anything about the other books in the series). This one is based on Beauty and the Beast, and features a girl named Anika, who goes to live with her alien neighbour after her father steals some flowers from his garden in order to save his own life. It was quite entertaining, but very short (125 pages, according to my kindle), and as with Dragon Rose (another Christine Pope book based on Beauty and the Beast), I found it rather disappointing that “beauty” never actually sees the “beast”, since Sarzhin always keeps his face covered, until he’s revealed to actually be incredibly attractive – which I think takes away from the impact of the fairytale. After all, imagining that someone looks like a monster is completely different from actually being faced with it…A Simple Gift by Christine Pope. A short story set the Christmas after Breath of Life, where Anika introduces Sarzhin to her parents, and tells them about her marriage and pregnancy. This was a nice additional scene, and it made me feel a little more kindly towards Anika’s mother, but ultimately I didn’t think it added much to the story.The Boy that Never Was by Karen Perry. A thriller that follows a married couple (Harry and Robin) whose son died during an earthquake when he was three, but five years on, Harry sees a boy who resembles Dillon in the street, and becomes convinced that he was actually kidnapped. This book was a gift from my Dad, which is the main reason that I decided to read it, since thrillers really have never really been my thing – and they still aren’t, it would seem. The writing was fast-paced, and the book was very readable, but unfortunately I wasn’t surprised by any of the plot twists, and I didn’t particularly like any of the main characters…River Daughter by Jane Hardstaff. The sequel to The Executioner’s Daughter, a historical adventure novel set in Tudor London that I read earlier this year and liked, but wasn’t too impressed by. River Daughter, I am happy to say, was a huge improvement, though it took a little while to really get going… In addition to Moss and Salter, we had three new characters: Eel-Eye Jack and Jenny Wren, both of whom were great fun and really interesting, and Bear, who is a bear (naturally) that Moss somehow manages to befriend (and their friendship is adorable 🙂 ). Some of the plot developments were rather convenient, but overall this book was a lot of fun.At this point the Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon came along, and I managed to get through two books for it – Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean and Talon by Julie Kagawa. I’ve written mini-reviews for both of them, which you can read by clicking on the covers…

Hildafolk by Luke Pearson. A short graphic novel about a girl who goes on a miniature adventure with her pet fox/reindeer-thing (which is the most adorable creature ever), and meets a troll. And a person made out of wood. 😕 Very, very cute, and I really loved the art style, but the ending was very abrupt, and it didn’t really feel finished…Fables Volume 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham. This series follows various familiar fairytale characters living in our world, after having been driven out of their homes by a mysterious invader. The first volume mainly focuses on the Big Bad Wolf, who is now a detective investigating the disappearance of Rose Red, Snow White’s younger sister. The focus on the plot made me ridiculously happy (especially when I think about most of the comics I’ve read recently), and the plot itself was really well thought-out and executed. The art was fantastic, too, and I’m really looking forward to reading the next volume~ 🙂All Fall Down by Christine Pope. The first book in the Tales of the Latter Kingdoms companion series (though this was the last one I read), which tells the story of a physician called Merys, who is kidnapped and sold as a slave, but finds herself falling in love with her new master. And then there’s a plague. This book was more plot-based than most of the other books in the series, which I appreciated, and the story was quite good for the most part (and particularly at the beginning). However, I didn’t really like the way some of the story’s themes were treated (slavery, euthanasia, at one point there is even what I would consider murder, though it’s not acknowledged as such…), and I thought that the ending was much too abrupt. Overall, I liked it, but it definitely had its flaws.All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher. A slightly autobiographical book of advice on growing up. First off, I should acknowledge that I’m not the target audience for this book – most of the advice in it is about things that I’ve managed to figure out by now – but it’s the kind of book that would probably have been really helpful when I was a teenager, and it’s also not the kind of advice that will ever go out of date (except, perhaps, the section on internet manners 😛 ). But although it wasn’t exactly helpful to me, I still enjoyed reading it. The writing was very good, and Carrie’s voice came through really strongly (if you’ve ever seen any of her youtube videos, then you’ll see that she writes exactly the way she speaks, which is nice), and the anecdotes she used to make her points were very relatable (mostly! I certainly can’t relate to being chased by a bear!) and witty. She’s also illustrated the book, and the pictures are really lovely. 🙂 Some of the advice she gives I didn’t completely agree with, but she makes it very clear throughout the book that this is just what she believes, and that ultimately everyone has to make their own choices.

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday theme was series I want to start this year, but since I’m hoping to do more finishing old things than starting new ones this year (one of my reading resolutions was even to finish some of the series that I’ve already started), I thought I’d share a couple of series that I hope to either finish or catch up on in 2015. So without further ado (& in no particular order):

1) The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness

I read the first book in this trilogy (The Knife of Never Letting Go) over a year ago, and liked it so much that I actually wanted to move on to the second book straight away. Unfortunately, I was stuck on a train, and the only other book I had with me was another first-book-in-a-series, and by the time I got home I was really into that other series, so Chaos Walking got put on the sidelines for a little long while.

2) The Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

I only bought this series recently, and was planning on marathoning it, but I got somewhat distracted by various other books (and Christmas!). I’ve only managed to read the first two books so far, but I’m enjoying them a lot.

3) The Night World series by L.J. Smith

This is not the best-written series, by far, but I’ve found it a lot of fun. Since the books are only loosely connected and all follow different protagonists, it’s quite easy to just dip in and out of. I’ve already read books four to nine, but have yet to read the first three books (which is not the way I usually do things)…

4) The Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I persuaded my cousin to start this series over the Christmas holiday, and her enthusiasm seems to have rekindled mine, so I’m hoping to get to this soon. The only books I have left to read are Opposition, the final book, and the spin-off novella Shadows.

5) The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

I read City of Bones a month or two ago, and was surprised by how much I liked it, since most of the things I’ve heard have been pretty mixed. That said, I’m not in a great hurry to finish the series (since there are five more books I need to read, and that’s quite a lot, even by my standards), but it’d definitely be nice to start off Cassandra Clare’s new Shadowhunter series as soon as it comes out without spoiling anything from her previous books…

Make yourselves comfy, because this’ll be a long one. 😉 I read a grand total of 24 books this month, which is a lot, even for me. Seriously, I’m not even sure that I knew it was possible…

Please Ignore Vera Dietzby A.S. King. I really loved this book – Vera & Charlie were both believable and likeable, and A.S. King’s writing was as amazing as ever. The only other A.S. King book I’ve read is The Dust of 100 Dogs, which was also great, but of the two, I definitely prefer Please Ignore Vera Dietz.

Boxers & Saintsby Gene Luen Yang. Technically two books, but I marathoned them, & my love towards each of them was more-or-less the same. I think I liked Saints a little better than Boxers, but, as I said, there’s not much in it. This series made me feel all the feels, & I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes powerfully-written graphic novels.

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth. This is almost a prequel to the Divergent series, told from Four’s perspective. It was really wonderful to get to know Four as he was pre-Tris, and to get another view into his mindset. I actually preferred reading his POV here to his chapters in Allegiant, as he’s much less of an emotional mess in Four. The bonus scenes from Divergent were also pretty cool, but not as interesting as the four novellas that make up the majority of the book.

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson. I actually picked up the sequel to this book from the library by mistake, and then had to hunt down this book as well. I found it pretty disappointing, though. I liked most of the characters, but the main romantic relationship had some pretty creepy undertones (particularly at the beginning), and there were a few things that happened that were never really explained. I may have rated this book a little harshly, since the writing is actually very solid, but the summary made me think that this was going to be a superpower-book, and I was kind of annoyed when I figured out that it really, really wasn’t…

Recklessby Skye Jordan. My first venture into what is basically erotica. I don’t have much to say about this book except that I was surprised by how much I liked it. The characters were likeable and well-written, and the plot was solid, if somewhat clichéd & a little cheesy at times.

Quicksilverby R.J. Anderson. The (far, far superior) sequel to Ultraviolet. I actually really liked this one. Allison (the main character from Ultraviolet) shows up occasionally, but the story follows Tori in the months after Ultraviolet. I loved Tori and her friend Milo, and I even liked the way that Sebastian was portrayed in this book (through Tori’s eyes as opposed to Allison’s). Also, I’m pretty sure that this is the only book I’ve ever read with an openly asexual main character, which scores it all kinds of bonus points.

Night Runnerby Tim Bowler.Starseeker, also by Tim Bowler is actually one of my favourite books, so I was pretty excited when I found his most recent release just lying around at the library, but I wasn’t all that impressed by it. I did like the main character Zinny, and the things that he was going through made me kind of want to hug everyone who was even a tiny bit nice to him in the book, but unfortunately I didn’t find the plot particularly interesting.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The first book in the Lux series. I basically only read this book because I heard that it was like Twilight, but with aliens instead of vampires, and I really needed something Twilight-y in my life. This series is probably better described as “Like Twilight, but a hundred times better, and also with aliens.” Needless to say, I loved it, and when I finish the last book in the series, I’ll probably write a series review.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Finishing this (audio)book made me feel ridiculously accomplished. My sister gave me the physical copy of it for my birthday several years ago, but it’s incredibly slow-paced and I found it really difficult to get into. A couple of years ago I decided to give the audiobook a try, and although I really liked it, it’s taken me until now to get through the whole thing, as I don’t tend to listen to audiobooks very often, or (when I do listen to them) for extended periods of time. This book is very slow, like I said, and also very long, so it’s not for the easily intimidated, but once you do manage to get in to it, it’s incredibly funny and enjoyable. The characters are amazingly-written, and the climax is well worth the 900-or-so pages it takes to get there.Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. I actually bought this book (and the sequel) in order to read on the plane back from China, but unfortunately I just wasn’t in the mood for reading (which made the whole flight feel like a horrific waste of time). I finally finished it about halfway through the month, & I actually really enjoyed it. It felt a little lackluster in the beginning, but once it gets going, it’s incredibly exciting. I particularly liked the chapters towards the end of the book, when Tavi and Kitai had to take the Trial of Wits (which was, of course, perfect for Tavi). The characters were wonderful; I loved Tavi and Kitai (though she was only introduced towards the end), and Amara and Bernard’s developing relationship was really sweet to read about. The plot was a little confusing in places, but it’s easy enough to follow what’s going on once you’ve got a grasp of the world, and I’m very much looking forward to the sequel.Isla & the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. The final book in the Anna & the French Kiss trilogy, following Anna & the French Kiss and Lola & the Boy Next Door. This was actually my favourite of the series so far, possibly because (having only read the first two books quite recently) I haven’t had that much time to get really attached to either Anna or Lola. But whatever the reason, I really enjoyed this book. I personally found Isla the most relatable of the three heroines, and Josh was absolutely swoon-worthy. They actually get together quite early on in the book, and it was lovely seeing how they were as a couple, rather than just as teenagers who liked each other a lot (as we saw in Anna and Lola’s books). Most of the criticism I’ve heard of this book is to do with the main conflict between Isla and Josh, and how it really only happened because of Isla’s insecurities, but I found it incredibly realistic, and it actually probably made me like the book even more.Once Upon a Glass Heart by Leah Hocking. An almost-retelling of several fairytales, including Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, with a heroine called Lily, who crosses from our world into a place called the Kingdom after finding a glass heart on her doorstep. I bought this book because it was on special offer on amazon, and because I thought it sounded interesting, but I ended up not really liking it at all. I didn’t manage to connect with Lily at all (although some of the supporting characters were likeable enough), and the plot seemed to lack any kind of direction. Basically the whole book felt like pointless filler between the introduction and the conclusion.Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The second book in the Lux series! I loved it! This book was mainly world-building and relationship-development, but it also put together the framework for potentially epic plot in the next book.

At this point in the month, the bout-of-books readathon started, and, in the interest of not repeating myself too much, I’ll link you to the my updates from days 1-3, 4-5 and 6-7, where I’ve talked about most of the books I read. My overall ratings for the books were as follows:

Elidor by Alan Garner:

Dark Angel by L.J. Smith:

The Chosen by L.J. Smith:

Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits by Matt Fraction:

Lord Sunday by Garth Nix:

Sabriel by Garth Nix:

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence:

Next up, I read Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The third book in the Lux series, and a much more plotty entry than the previous two. With all the main relationships established, and the framework for the plot laid down, this book was absolutely epic, and I loved it.Percy Jackson & the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan. I just had a really strong craving for Percy Jackson book, and in the absence of the new Heroes of Olympus book, I turned to Percy Jackson & the Greek Gods. Which was not a mistake at all – this book was hilarious. I particularly liked the chapters on Hades and Persephone, and the ones on Kronos and Rhea, Gaia and Ouranos, and Dionysus. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so much sympathy towards Hades. He’s such an adorable character in this book!Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is the last book I managed to read this month (and I actually only finished it a couple of minutes before I started writing this). I can’t really say much about this book without spoiling major plot points, but needless to say it was amazing. Probably my favourite entry in the series so far.

[EDIT (4/11/2018): Lowered my rating for Dark Angel from 3 to 2 stars. Most of the Night World books are pretty fun – even the not-great ones – but this was definitely my least favourite of them.]

DAY 6 (168 pages)

On Saturday, my first stop of the day was actually at the library, where I returned the copies of Lord Sunday and Hawkeye that I’d borrowed, &, since I was there anyway, I picked up a copy of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Onyx, the second book in the Lux series, and read the bonus scene at the end, from Daemon’s point-of-view (I have the kindle edition of this book, which unfortunately doesn’t include any extras 😦 ), which was 6 pages long.

When I got home, I continued on with Sabriel, and managed to finally finish the last 120 pages, which led me to change its star-rating on goodreads from four to five! I first read this book when I was maybe 15 or so, & I remember loving it, but it was so wonderful to remind myself why.

Finally, before bed, I picked up Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, and I managed to get through 42 pages before going to sleep, bringing my total for the day to 168 pages.

DAY 7 (331 pages)

Not much to say about today: I finished off Prince of Thorns, which I really enjoyed (and I’ve written a full review of it here. My first review! I’m so proud of myself… 🙂 ), and then… nothing. But anyway, my total for today was 331 pages, makes this my second-best day of the readathon!

WRAP-UP

Overall, this week I managed to read seven whole books, as well as the extra pages from Onyx, so I’m pretty proud of myself. And I managed to get everything on my TBR! My total page count for the week was a whopping 1769 pages, which is actually a lot more than I anticipated after the somewhat lackluster days four to six (not to mention day two ), so I’m pretty happy with that. 🙂